Wimbledon 2024 Draw: Strenuous Task for Jessica Pegula as Katie Boulter, Ons Jabeur Await the Kill Before Elena Rybakina Challenge

Jessica Pegula’s dominant victory at the Berlin Open undeniably sent shockwaves through the grass-court circuit. However, the road ahead at Wimbledon is far from a leisurely stroll. As the fifth seed, Pegula will face a gauntlet of in-form contenders and higher-ranked players if she hopes to reach at least the semifinals of the prestigious championship.

According to the Wimbledon women’s singles draw shared by Tennis Journalist, José Morgado, Pegula’s first round is against compatriot Ashlyn Krueger. Latter is the current World No.87, and has lost the only encounter they have had until now against Pegula. But no tennis player could be discounted short as they stand on the Grass court in the main draw. When stats are leveraged, Pegula may sail through her first round, unless Krueger has some extra arsenal packed in her kit to push her aside.

If Pegula subsides the threat posed by Kreuger, she would be facing either the Bulgarian tennis star Viktoriya Tomova or the Chinese Xinyu Wang in the 2nd round. While Pegula has won her only encounter against Tomova, Wang is a new challenger to Pegula as she has not played the Chinese before. Nonetheless, with form and rankings favoring her, Pegula is expected to sail through the 2nd round, to face Katie Boulter in the third.

Boulter has defeated the American at the United Cup 2023, their only encounter to date. Boulter would not be an easy threat to push aside for Pegula, and considering she is not surprised by any of her opponents in the initial rounds. The Briton would be fired up to lift the trophy supported by the home crowd as she rides on the success of her recent title win. However, the 3R marks the beginning of Pegula’s strenuous task, if she wins against Briton, her next opponent would be another big fish.

In the 4R, Pegula could face either the runner-up in the last 2 years, Ons Jabeur or Elina Svitolina. The Tunisian leads their H2H encounter 4-2, with all the wins coming in Ons’ side in their last 4 encounters. Moreover, Jabeur would not want to be disappointed, posing a tough challenge for Pegula. However, it could be a relatively easy journey if she faces Svitolina, as Jessica has won 4 out of 5 of their encounters. Well, Svitolina and Jabeur are two opposite sides of the same coin when it comes to their record against Pegula. Which side would land opposite to her only time will tell as the next opponent might turn out to be the Wimbledon Open 2022 winner!

But if the American’s form supports her throughout with a strong will, she would be facing Elena Rybakina in the Quarterfinals. Pegula has humbled Rybakina on 3 of their 4 encounters and would look to extend the streak and proceed further. With her recent dominance over the World No.2 Coco Gauff, odds certainly are in Pegula’s favor to be one of the finalists. 

Would Jessica Pegula be able to assert her dominance again on the Grass courts?

Pegula’s start of the season was not a favorable one, as the American has been in constant search for her winning form. And she turned things around this time, at the Berlin Open, when she defeated the seasoned players, Coco Gauff and Anna Kalinskaya. Her domination over the US Open 2023 champion would certainly boost her confidence as she looks forward to defeating her old nemesis on the grass.

Moreover, Andy Roddick put his faith in Pegula after her win over Gauff. He said, “This is a big title. Beating Coco, beating Kalinskaya, who was frankly on one this week, like just crushing the ball, um, saving four match points that final. This was the exact type of week that Jess Pegula needed to get through to feel like she was a part of the tour again.”

Every player is out to get their hands on the ultimate glory. Where would Jessica Pegula stand in this race?